Finger Paintings On The Walls
by TheDiiva
Summary: The ghosts steal something from right under Danny's nose, he struggles to find it before it lands into the wrong hands. Simple coincidences bring unexpected consequences.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Another story from Phantomtype's stream chats. I tried to make this less angsty. It didn't work. This is based off the headcanon that Danny is a very good artist, and that gets him into trouble with his ghostie foe-pals. Another thing: this is before Kindred Spirits and kinda apart of my Nullify Vilify story. It alludes to things Clockwork has shown Danny, but not happened yet.

**Finger Paintings On The Walls**

-o-oOo-o-

"_The dreams of the youth become the regrets of the matured." -Unknown_

-o-oOo-o-

Danny was seriously having the second worst day of his life.

He damn near classified it as the first, but at least he wasn't in physical pain like the accident day. But make no mistake about it, this was a very very bad day for him, well and beyond crisis level. He'd already torn through all of his room, ripped every drawer of his dresser and desk out and dumping their contents on the floor (his mother was going to kill him), but he still couldn't find it. It wasn't under the bed, in the closet, behind his computer tower, in the walls, nowhere. It was just gone. Vanished into thin air. Missing.

And that was just _**not**_ okay with Danny.

No one, and he meant _no one_, that he knew could ever see anything in the thing. He'd be ridiculed more than he already was if they knew. It was his biggest secret-bigger than Phantom. Bigger than his tentative venture into the adult websites.

Danny combed his fingers through his hair for the millionth time that evening. He just couldn't find his god damned sketchbook.

He bolted down the stairs, ignoring the alarmed looks of his family as he jumped over whatever thing they were building in the middle of the living room. Jazz in particular looked rather concerned, but he paid her no mind. Getting his art back before it ended up on ghost google images or something was more important. He jumped down the lab stairs two at a time and flew right into the portal, transforming midway. Ice cold ectoplasm washed over his body, and he pushed himself forward against the ambient material of the spectral plane. His legs morphed into a tail as he sped away, searching for someone-_anyone_-who might have taken his sketchbook.

Technus or Skulker were looking good for the crime, although Ember could have too since she was the last ghost he remembered seeing and actually getting away from him. But the former two were the ones who started this whole big mess. They'd tried to team up to take him out a couple weeks back, but he'd been passed out on his bed with his sketchbook covering his face from the light. They'd been confused about what to do, so they has just picked up the book. Skulker had poked his face, but Technus...Technus the curious, nosy bastard. He'd taken the book and begun freaking about it. The reason why he never wanted anyone to see the book was simply because he drew all the ghosts he'd ever met in it. From Dora's dragon form to Boxlunch from the alternate future, every single one. And of coarse, his book just _had_ to have been open to the page the technological ghost's picture was on.

Both ghosts had ended up demanding to be able to have the pictures. Danny had initially refused, but they stalked him, bugging him endlessly about it. That was the problem with ghosts: once they wanted something, they never gave up trying to get it. Creatures of obsession, his mother always said. So he'd bent and given them copies of the pictures. And then all the other ghosts started wanting theirs. It was his worst nightmare, ghosts cropping up everywhere in his daily life demanding he draw them again and again. The Box Ghost even had the nerve to bother him in the school bathroom. He'd never really held much sympathy for those artist posts where they complained about being bugged by people to draw them, but now he knew their pain, tenfold-because his ghosts just wouldn't leave him alone about it and they weren't bound by physics. He guessed that he'd drawn every ghost he knew about twenty times already.

But for one of them to steal the thing was crossing his patience line-it was amazing it even still existed, actually.

Danny sped through the zone, past all the random doors, until he found Skulkers Lair. He swooped down and right into the ghost's private living space, gathering an ectoblast in his hand just in case.

Skulker looked surprised to see him, but Danny just narrowed his eyes, "Give it back."

"Give _what_ back?! Whelp, don't you know it's rude to enter a lair without permission-"

"My sketchbook! I know it was one of you, and I don't have time to be chasing it down! Give it back or tell me who has it!" Danny snapped, "Now."

"I don't have it!" Skulker glared. Danny snarled, his fingers twitching around the large amount of energy within his grasp. Skulker eyed his hand, and deflated a little, "But I have seen it today, in the zone."

"Who had it and where did it go?!"

"Youngblood had it when I saw it. Kitty took it when he tried to rip things out." Danny eyed him more, "She went north with her shadow guy."

"Thanks." Danny spun around and bolted off again, speeding north as fast as he could.

He found Kitty, who didn't have it. She told him Johnny had taken it to show Dora. Dora had confiscated it and went to show it to Technus, who stole it and been intercepted by Spectra, who lost it to Splitends, who gave it to Ember, who traded it to the Ghostwriter, where it then, _supposedly_, vanished from his library.

Quite frankly, Danny was about to start sucking people into his thermos just to release stress.

"Things don't just VANISH from your possession, Ghostwriter! You're not that careless!" Danny slammed his hand down on the desk dividing him and the irritable ghost.

"Of course things don't! But I'm telling you, Phantom, your art book is gone! Poof! Now stop annoying me about it!" Writer snapped, shifting the books in his arm.

"Who else was in here when it went 'poof'?!"

Ghostwriter waved his hand in the air, "The Lunch Lady was looking at cookbooks in the east wing. And the Box ghost is probably in my basement still but-OH! Those vultures! The three of them! They were here asking about a book that they wanted. I refused to give it to them though. They were around where the book was. Go bother them about it."

Danny's core went dead still. Oh, _**hell no**_. Anything but _that_.

Danny shot off quicker than a bullet, casting loose pages into the air. He ignored the angry screams of the Ghostwriter and pushed himself as fast as he could-112 miles per, 150, 200, 217. he wove between doors and lairs and various unintelligible odds and ends. Ghosts that saw him pass were left in the ripples of his wake. He passed the far frozen, Ember's lair, Deseree's palace. His core was practically thrumming in his throat by the time he saw the giant purple football. He didn't even stop to push it out of the way-he went straight through it, intangible.

Vlad Masters could not get his paws on his sketchbook. He would sooner eat blood blossoms in his ghost form than allow that.

-o-oOo-o-

Vlad was equal parts irritated and amused. His 'minions' had failed to get him the tome he'd demanded. He'd take it up with the Writer himself later-it wasn't up for debate on if he was getting it or not. But they'd returned with this curious little item from the library, having recognized the neat, looping handwriting forming the familiar name on the cover. Daniel Fenton's name, on a nearly full sketchbook. How very curious. Vlad hadn't any idea Daniel had had any interest in art-the boy had only professed his astrology interests to his awareness-and he thought it was a kind of joke at first. A silly thing a relative might have given him because they didn't now what exactly to get him and the teen had just used it for random, sparse doodles, perhaps.

He was so very wrong.

The entire first page was a beautiful grayscale illustration of Amity Park's skyline from a high point of view. The satellite receivers peeking out the side of the drawing revealed it was from the top of the Fentonworks OP Center. The details in the piece were amazing, from the shading of the buildings to the clouds cast above the starry sky. Looking closer, Vlad noticed that it was drawn entirely in _pen_. He was, quite honestly, stunned. It wasn't hyper realistic, but it wasn't so stylized either. It would have looked fantastic with color. Vlad flipped to the next page, this one filled with smaller scene sketches, but no less beautiful than the first. The theme of them all seemed to be Samantha and Tucker doing things, as each had the two in them. One had them flicking paper footballs between each other, another posing with ghost hunting gear, a third with Sam dumping an ice creme cone on Tucker's head, the last with them playing a video game. Daniel's anatomy and posing was spot on, there were only a few longer legs and wonky hands.

The third page and onward was where he snorted, and in interest skyrocketed. Ghosts-the same ones Danny normally fought. Their likeness was unmistakable. Some were frozen in fighting stances, others in flight, a few in calm serenity. Technus, Walker, Kitty, Poindexter, Hotep-Ra, Spectra. Little scribbly notes near some of the drawings were a bit condescending and sarcastic jabs towards the particular ghost. Technus' 'I am the master of outdated software and oldies lingo' was a personal favorite of Vlad's. Page after page, both fronts and backs, were filled with ghost sketches, some large, some tiny. A few pictures of his family and friends cropped up here and there, but it was still mostly ghosts. Vlad took to flipping through them like a post-it note animation, only pausing when he came across a particularly outstanding work. A rendition of a very angry Prince Aragon in his dragon state was one such work, the ghost drawn reared up on his rear legs, his vast wings flared. Fire burned behind him, casting him mostly in shadow, but his glowing eyes and mouth contrasted the darkness chillingly. It had a dominating feel to it, catching the ghosts knack for intimidation and control perfectly.

Vlad continued, but his mind began to wander. Why did Daniel draw his ghostly foes? And why so many? The boy was failing nearly all his classes, being torn between ghost fights, family life and school work. Yet he had to time to work on these? Vlad refused to believe these were quick sketches-there was too much detail, too much effort put into them. Some looked like they might have taken hours.

Just as the thoughts began, he caught glances of red and pink, the first colors he'd come across. His fingers paused and he backed up a page. His stomach twisted painfully, a lump catching in his throat.

The entire page was filled with pictures of him-specifically his ghost form.

There was a large illustration of him with his hands wrapped around Daniel's neck. His fingers were elongated and tipped with sharp claws, several of them piercing into the teen's skin. Daniel was pinned by his body, long bloody red tears in his trademark white and red shirt. Vlad's own cape billowed outward like large jagged wings caught on the wind, the large points that his hair was styled into longer and more jagged than they really were. But Vlad couldn't tear his eyes away from his face. His eyes were wide and bright blood red, whips of color trailing from them. But his smile. _His damn smile._ His picture-self was smiling, wide, cruel and vile. His fangs were too long, and all the rest of his teeth were razor sharp, a forked tongue snaking it's way from between them. Vlad was hurting and strangling Daniel, and he was _smiling_ like he was **enjoying** it all.

It disgusted Vlad.

The image wasn't alone on the page. Another showed Vlad fighting with Maddie, his jagged fingers wrapped around her wrists, forcing her near him. She was holding an ectogun, and seemed to be struggling to try to shoot him. Her face was twisted in disgust, yet his own still wore that terrible smile. A third was of Vlad perched on a large chair, surrounded by dozens of what appeared to be clones of Daniel. Their bodies seemed to be melting, green ectoplasm merged with bright red blood. They were grotesque and horrible, disfigured and dying. Danny's beaten, battered body was in front of him, arm twisted the wrong way and his leg bent terribly.

There was one of Vlad and Danny fighting, one of Vlad yelling viciously at him, quite a few of Vlad strangling Danny, and sometimes even Maddie, and a couple of Vlad manhandling or otherwise hurting Danny, hims family and his friends. He kept flipping pages, but it was all the same. Horrible, wicked depictions of him doing terrible, disgusting things. Not a single drawing was of him in any reasonable way. He was always drawn like a demon. A monster.

This was how Daniel saw him. This was what he thought he was.

It rattled Vlad to his core, made him feel sick.

He kept flipping, but his fingers froze for a second time. Yet more pictures of him, but so much different. His younger self, from his college days. Before that damnable accident that tore away what little he still had.

One was a redraw of the picture from his freshman yearbook, where he was with Jack and Maddie. That particular picture always pained Vlad to look at. Others were sketches of events his parents had to have told him about. The moment right before the proto portal was turned on, several depictions of their old pillow fights, how they used to study, some of their pranks, a few of Vlad's more ridiculous hair style experiments-there were so many, almost as many as the illustrations of his ghost form. There were pictures of Vlad reading a book with Maddie sitting on him, of Vlad and Jack playing an Atari, of the three cheering in football gear, of Vlad taping a chair to the ceiling, of the three passed out on each other. Of them all laughing, of them all happy, including Vlad. He was smiling in nearly every single one, a wide toothy grin of genuine joy. A smile Vlad hadn't given for twenty years.

In the margins of the sketches, Danny had written, '_Why doesn't Vlad ever smile like this anymore? It's always that jerkish smirk...'_

There were dozens upon dozens of the little notes, and each one made his heart constrict tighter and tighter.

_'Why is he so mean, what happened to him?'_

_'He's pushed everyone away for years. If he keeps doing it, he won't have anyone left.'_

_'Why'd he choose to become such a monster?'_

_'He's not happy with anything unless its exactly what he wants. It's Vlad's way or the high way.'_

_'He's trying to ruin everything, because nothing is ever **enough** anymore.'_

_'I wonder how happy he could be if he gave up his grudge and stopped being so angry.'_

_'He fears loneliness. Yet he's barred so many people out that he's already alone. He's not letting anyone in, because he was hurt and fears being hurt again. '_

_**'Why can't he see that they still care?'**_

The tears came before he realized they were already down his face, burning hot. Vlad dropped to his knees, clutching the sketchbook to his chest. Each word was a knife to his heart, the pain filling his entire being. This was too much. The utter disconnected way Daniel viewed him: a lost cause of a man and a pure monster. A sadistic smiling beast, someone who chose to dig his own grave. This was not what he wanted. This wasn't how he wanted Daniel to see him, to think he would actually do those vile things.

"V-Vlad...?"

Vlad's eyes snapped open, meeting the stainless white boots in front of him. He swallowed thickly, barely able to do so because of the painful lump stuck there. Slowly, he inhaled through his nose and forced himself to sit up. His eyes met Daniel's, the teen's brows scrunched and his eyes uncertain. He was poised hesitantly, a hand partly reached out to him. But Vlad recognized the loose way Danny stood, the way he was ready to flee at any time.

Danny bit his lip pulling his hand back to his chest, "A-are...you okay?"

Vlad swallowed again and cleared his throat. He forced his composure to come back. He pushed himself to his feet, Danny taking a few steps back. Their eyes met for a moment, before Danny looked away. They darted back towards the book still clutched in Vlad's arms before looking at a spot on the wall again. Vlad sighed heavily, and held the sketchbook out to Danny.

Danny took his art back, flipping it closed and holding it close. He watched as Vlad just quietly turned and began walking away.

"Vlad, I'm sorry..." Vlad paused. Danny tapped the toe of his boot on the lush carpeted floor, his fingers fidgeting with the metal rings of the book, "I never meant for anyone to see any of these, especially..." he trailed off, looking away.

_'Especially you.'_ Vlad couldn't help but see those words in Daniel's handwriting.

Vlad just shook his head, and walked out of the room, "No, I'm sorry. Goodbye, Daniel. I will...leave you and your family alone."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: A few of you asked if there was more to this, and I decided that that answer is yes!

**Finger Paintings On The Walls**

-o-oOo-o-

"_Tell me everything that happened, tell me everything you saw."_

"_They had lights inside their eyes, they had lights inside their eyes."_

"_Did you see the closing window, did you hear the slamming door?"_

"_**They moved forward and my heart died, they moved forward and my heart died."**_

_-Dead Hearts, Stars_

-o-oOo-o-

For the third time in his life, Danny was having the second worst day of his life.

Well, more like the second worst _week,_ since this uncomfortable something has been hanging over him for days on end.

Leaving Vlad's had been terrible. He felt like his limbs had been made of lead, and an overwhelming sense of guilt had felt like it nearly broke his back. There wasn't any doubt Vlad had seen it _all. _All the monstrous depictions and vent art he'd done of the billionaire. What was worse was he didn't know how Vlad had even taken the art, or how he was dealing with what he saw. He hadn't come into contact with anything Vlad since, not hide nor hair. He was absolutely silent and Danny supposed that's what bothered him the most. At least if Vlad was attacking him, he'd know how angry the man was based on how hard he punched.

According to the internet, Vlad hadn't been very active with any of his companies either. He'd been trying to buy off a rival for the longest time, yet he just hadn't showed up to any of the negotiations since that evening. Not only did that kill Vlad's chance of buying it off, but it sent unsettle through his own companies. Vlad's assistant was trying her best to calm the overactive media, but it was clear she didn't know what was happening either.

Vlad had simply recessed into his figurative shell. Locked himself away.

Danny groaned and flopped over onto his side, the covers pulling tightly around his legs despite his efforts to kick them loose. The bright blue of his clock met his blurry eyes, reading 2:21 AM. There were no ghosts around, nothing for him to stay awake for. He needed the sleep. Yet he hadn't slept right since that day. He tossed and turned the first night, fitful and uncomfortable in the closest thing to a lair he had. The second night he just couldn't fall asleep so he'd just flipped through the stupid little book that caused all this. That had been a bad idea, since he turned immediately to the Vlad pages. Vlad's pictures were the only ones in the entire book that were actually showing him hurting Danny in any way. None of the other ghost's pictures did that. The only other picture of a ghost that he drew doing that had been torn to bits after a nasty nightmare that had seemed all to real. He'd promised to never draw Dan ever again due to that.

Danny didn't know what had hit Vlad harder-the Plasmius images or the college ones.

But he did know that Vlad had been affected-and now he felt he needed to fix it.

It was most likely the only way to get the whatever feeling off his chest. He didn't even know what it was, really. It was crushing and it was relentless. It needed to go.

2:25 AM, and he was getting up. 2:30, and he was standing in front of the Fenton portal. 2:32, he was in the Zone.

3:47, and he was in Vlad Master's castle mansion.

-o-oOo-o-

3:49, and he was already regretting coming. But he was here, and he wasn't going to run away like a coward. This was his fault, he was going to fix it. Or get blasted through a wall trying. Honestly, he'd take that option if he could.

"VLAD!" Danny called, kicking one of the glass cases containing Packer's memorabilia just hard enough for a loud racket to bounce off the stones, "Vlad, you home?"

Tiny little pitterpatters sounded to Danny's left and he spun, coming face to face with a sleek, elegant cat. It froze, staring at him. Danny snorted, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk. So much for Vlad not getting a cat like he said he wouldn't. The cat trotted forward and sniffed his leg. It pressed its entire body against him, purring loudly and twitching its head to mew up at him. Danny couldn't help it, he knelt down and rubbed its head, trailing his fingers through the soft fur. It let him look at her tag and he mentally kicked himself-he should've known.

Danny stood and walked up the stairs, Maddie jogging at his feet. Not once did she stop purring. At least she wasn't walking in front of him so he wouldn't accidentally kick her. Vlad would probably skin him alive if he did that to his 'precious Maddie'. Danny peeked into every door he could find. If they were locked, he just phased his face in. Thus far, he counted twenty seven bedrooms, ten bathrooms, eight studies, and fourteen closets. Danny didn't realize how outrageously huge Vlad's castle was until he was actually trying to find something in it. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

And he was only on the first floor he started looking on.

Closing the door on yet another bathroom, Danny tilted his head back, groaning, "I'm never gonna find Vlad at this rate."

Maddie's ears perked up, and she batted his leg relentlessly. Startled, Danny looked down at her, brows creased. She meowed loudly, then trotted off down the hall he'd just come down. Danny's shoulders slumped.

"Great, now I'm alone," He let his hand drop off the door handle with a thump, turning away.

Maddie paused, looking back at the young human. He was walking away from her. Her ears pressed down against her head and she bolted back to him, her claws sometimes sticking in the carpet. She charged right in front of him, forcing him to stop. She batted his leg again, using her claws for extra emphasis this time, and then trotted away again. Danny yelped at the feel of her claws digging into his skin, and just watched her walk away again. She stopped, and looked back at him, yowling loudly.

Danny walked after her, and her ears perked again. She jogged further down the hall, the very confused teen on her tail. She led him to the stairs that went up to the third floor, down the east hall, turned west at the intersection and down three doors. She stopped in front of the forth door, pressing her paw to the door. Danny blinked at her, then to the door. She scratched it a little, mrowing a little. Danny tilted his head in an 'okay, whatever you say' kind of way, and turned the handle. He half expected it to be locked, the way the cat was acting towards the door.

It wasn't.

Danny stepped into a large sitting room kind of area, a fireplace burning on the other side of the room. Large floor-to-ceiling windows framed the hearth, a few opened, long burgundy blowing in the gentle breeze. Bookshelves lined the left wall, under a second floor balcony that was also lined with shelves. The right side of the room was home to the entertainment systems-with the largest TV Danny had ever see-and a grand piano. A chair was turned to the fireplace, and all the electrical lights in the room were off.

Maddie murped and trotted past Danny's ankles over to the stand beside the chair, jumping onto it. She looked back at him, then at the chair, her ear flicking.

"She's a smart cat. I trained her to do this-find and fetch things, including myself. It's nice to know that that skill has gotten some use," A hand reached out and scratched Maddie under the chin. She tilted her head and pushed into the gesture. Even across the room, Danny could hear her purrs. He heard Vlad sigh a little, "But you're not here about my cat, are you, Daniel?"

"Yeah. I'm not," Danny admitted, walking forward and transforming into his human half. The room was cold and he regretted not changing into real clothes, "I'm here about...the other day."

"I assumed as much," Vlad mused.

Danny bit his lip as an uncomfortable awkward silence settled. He watched the flames flicker and the light dance upon the stones of it's cage. Vlad made no effort to continue speaking, and Danny didn't know what to even say. What _could_ he say? He slowly ventured around the chair, Maddie's curious eyes locked on him. Vlad didn't look up, he only continued to roll the small champagne glass in his fingers. He quite frankly looked like shit. His hair was tangled, gaunt shadows under his eyes and in the hallows of his cheeks. Despite being dressing in his normal fancy clothes, he looked more off kilter than normal. Danny looked away from him into the fire again, sighing through his nose.

"Listen, Vlad, I-"

"Go home, Daniel."

Something in his chest constricted, Danny could only blink, "What?"

"I said, go home," Vlad repeated, "Go home and be with your family. Your livelihood is safe. I meant what I said last time. You're free to live your happy life, free of me. That is what you wanted, yes? To be rid of me? You have it."

Danny fidgeted with his fingers, "That's not-"

"Go home. There's nothing for you here. It's over. I'm done."

"Vlad-"

"I will be shutting down my portal in two days time, the generator is winding down now so it can be properly turned off. I'm miles away from you and your family, and you will never had to worry about encountering me in the Zone-"

"DAMMIT VLAD, WOULD YOU _LISTEN_ TO ME FOR _ONCE_ IN YOUR MISERABLE LIFE?!"

Danny slapped a hand over his mouth. Horror filled his eyes.

Vlad was silent.

Danny pulled his hand away, "I didn't mean that-"

"Clearly you did, else you wouldn't have said it," Vlad said sharply, "I can't argue with the truth."

"I say and do stuff without thinking about the consequences all the time, you know that, I'm a stupid teenager-"

"A 'stupid teenager' couldn't keep his identity a secret for nearly two years, a 'stupid teenager' couldn't outwit a legal genius ever single time, a 'stupid teenager' couldn't be faced with trial and tribulation time and time again and always manage to do the right thing," Vlad set his glass on the table. Maddie creeped across his lap, pressing against him, "You are not _stupid_, Daniel. Rash, impulsive, easily manipulated, and naive; yes. But _not_ stupid. You know who you are and right from wrong. You know what's worth fighting for and when to walk away. Which is why you need to go home. It's time for you to walk away from this."

Danny shook his head, "No. It's not. I'm not leaving. This is still wrong. I need to fix it, that's why I'm here," He looked back to Vlad, digging his toe into the carpet,"You...you're not acting like yourself. Somethings wrong, and it's my fault."

"You're paranoid. It's natural. You expect this to all be a lie and for me to strike when you let your guard down. As I've said-"

"This isn't about our fights!" Danny snapped,"This is about _you_, Vlad! You're not like this! You never give up, never! Something happened last time I was here, something that broke everything I know about you, and I don't know what it was but I don't like it! This entire situation needs to fixed or resolved or whatever! I can't take it, I can't sleep because I know this is my fault and I can't stop thinking about it-"

"You have what you've always wanted-"

"That isn't the _point_ of this!"

"-Why can't you just be content with that?!"

"Why can't you be content with all you have?! It's bittersweet, Vlad, that same _exact_ reason!"

"Bittersweet is still better than nothing"

"I'd rather not have it than have it like this!"

"JUST GO HOME, DANIEL!"

"NO!"

"WHY NOT?!"

"BECAUSE DAMMIT YOU'RE _HURT_ AND I _**CARE**_!"

Heat and cold mingled in the air, frost forming in Danny's hair and on the windows behind him while the fire roared larger in tune to Vlad's words. Danny payed no mind to the fact that he could see his breath puffing out, to his constricting heart and thrumming core. Vlad eyes burned, red blotting in his cerulean irises, fissles of pink weaving around his hands. His fingers were clenched so tightly together they were turning white, his nails digging into his skin. They shook slightly, and Danny knew it was taking all of Vlad's self control to restrain himself. The air around them crackled. Danny forced his own fists open and took a deep breath. Vlad looked back at the fire, his jaw working.

"Daniel, let me give you a suggestion," He said after a while,"You can't fix what can't be repaired. You can't save what doesn't want to be saved."

Danny's shoulder slumped, "Vlad-"

"And I am both of those," Vlad continued, "I'm telling you, Daniel: you need to walk away from this. Walk away, and never turn back. _Go_."

Danny threw his arms out, "What in the hell are you gonna do then? Lock yourself in here until you die? Close yourself away, both literally and metaphorically? I'm not leaving knowing that's what you might do. I'm not going to just give up."

Vlad tightened his jaw, "I'm fine."

"You haven't been fine since the accident, Vlad."

Silence.

Danny sighed, tracing the patterns of the carpet with his eyes, "What else do you want from me? Tell me what I can do to make things right again," Vlad opened his mouth but Danny glared, "Besides going home."

The elder half remained quiet for a long time, his fingers trailing down Maddie's back. Then, he quietly said, "I want to know if that's how you truly saw me."

His stomach flopped with guilt. Danny shook his head, "That's a trick question, I drew them when I was angry-"

"Are those things you think I'd really do? How inhuman you think I've devolved into?" Vlad mused, picking up the champagne glass again. He took a short sip.

"Vlad..." Danny didn't know what to say. While it was true he'd always drawn Vlad when he was angry, he has also drawn him the way he had seen him. Doing thing he'd be shown that Vlad does. Kidnapping his mom, hurting his friends, hurting him, cloning him...it was all true things, things he didn't just think Vlad were capable of-he _knew_. Should he tell the truth? Should he lie? Which would be better in the long run?

Danny watched as Vlad exhaled loudly, letting his head fall back onto the chair. All of the fight just seemed to drain out of the man, leaving him looking very worn and older than he'd ever seemed before.

"Sometimes I think I'd be better off if I'd died from my accident," Vlad whispered, and Danny felt like he couldn't breathe, "I don't know who I am anymore. I'm no one with nothing at a point that I never thought I'd ever be."

"V-vlad...?"

"I'm tired of fighting and I'm tired of lying; I'm tired of pretending and I'm tired of hurting. I'm tired of waiting, I'm tired of wanting, I'm tired of trying, and I'm _tired_ of being _**tired,**_" He said quietly, small tears escaping from his eyes, "I don't want to do this anymore. I've run on anger for twenty years. I've run out, and there's nothing left."

"V-vlad I don't like this..."

"I miss it all. Every single thing. I wish I go back to a time when everything was perfect, when everyone was _happy_. Just for a little bit, so I can remember what it feels like."

"V-vlad you're s-scaring m-me..." He didn't noticed the tears slipping down his own face.

"You were right on one thing, Daniel. I brought this all on myself. I'm lonely, I'm miserable, and I'm hurt. I'd undo it all if I could," Vlad closed his eyes, shaking his head, "Especially what I've done to you. All of what I've done to you..."

Danny screwed his eyes shut, wrapping his arms around himself, "Oh g-god please s-stop..."

Silence settled for a couple of moments, before Vlad spoke up again, "It's nearly five thirty. You need to leave, you have to be home for school," He waved his hand, sighing, "Go, Daniel. Go home and be with your family. You have a good thing, don't waste it."

"How can you expect me to just leave after all of _THAT_?!" Danny shrieked, staring at the other halfa. The wet trails from his tears stood out in the firelight. Vlad just chuckled softly.

"Because I'm your villain. And hero's don't care for their villains."

"Oh my god-I can't-" Danny choked, begging, "I can't-this is too much oh god-this is _so_ much worse than what I was expecting oh my god _please_. Please tell me your pretending or acting or trying to fool-please anything is better than _this_!"

"...I'm sorry," Vlad said quietly, and Danny tried to muffle his crying, "Please, go. I'd like to be alone."

Danny shook his head, "No, no-don't do this, please, just let me stay for today, I can-"

"Daniel, you need to go home," Vlad's tone left no room for argument or compromise. This was it. There was nothing he could do.

Danny nodded, "I'll be back-tonight. W-we'll talk then, okay?" He got no answer. Maddie pattered over to him, pressing against his legs, and he smiled sadly down at her.

"Before you go, Daniel, I should probably tell you this now. You should expect inheritances from me in the coming weeks. All of my money will be split between your family, and all of my properties and stock will be yours personally. I am glad Maddie has seemed to take a liking to you, since she'll also be yours," Vlad said, casting a glace towards the purring feline, "You will be free to do what you want with it all. Keep them, sell them, destroy everything, whatever. They'll be yours. I understand that most likely upsets you, but I don't have anyone else to give everything to. Perhaps you could think of it as compensation for everything. Goodbye, Danny."

Danny _broke_.

His fingernails were digging into expensive black fabric before he even cared to realize he'd moved, his arms wrapped so tightly around Vlad's shoulders his muscles ached at the tension. His breath was coming out in choking sobs, boiling hot tears paving rivers down his skin. He buried his face so deep into Vlad's collar all he could smell was fabric and cologne. Everything in him hurt-his throat, his lungs, his stomach, his fingers, his heart. He felt like his throat was twisting closed, his stomach clenching, his heart squeezing in on itself. It hurt so bad, and it wouldn't stop hurting. He didn't even care how pathetic he must have seemed. He sat there, clinging to his arch enemy, and _wailed_.

Never before would he have been so damned happy to feel Vlad's arms wrap around him.

Fingers tangled into his hair, holding him close and tight. Danny twitched and spasmed, his coughs and sobs violet, but Vlad held him throughout it all. Danny could feel Vlad's shoulder begin to quake, and forced his fingers to clench tighter on his suit jacket, shutting his eyes even tighter. He felt the searing hot dots of wetness on his shirt, and only sniffled in response to them.

And together, they cried.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Surprise third chapter ahoy!

**Finger Paintings On The Walls**

-o-oOo-o-

"_Did you touch them, did you hold them? Did they fallow you to town?"_

_"They make me feel I'm falling down, they make me feel I'm falling down."_

_"Was there one you saw too clearly, did they seem too _real_ to you?"_

"_**They were kids that I once knew, they were kids that I once knew."**_

_-Dead Hearts, Stars_

-o-oOo-o-

After six days of restless sleep, Danny woke up thoroughly and completely well rested.

His eyes peeled open, turning away when brightness bombarded him. The mattress and covers around him were not his own; they were much too comfy to be. He almost debated on going back to sleep when he realized he didn't remember falling asleep. He blinked his eyes open again, allowing them to adjust to the light cascading in through the windows. Mahogany wood made up the walls, several large pieces of furniture scattered about the room. The clock on the nightstand was blank, and Danny furrowed his brows at this.

He sat up, stretching his arms and rubbing away the dried trails of his tears. The previous night was crystal clear in his memory, and he slumped, dragging his fingers through his hair.

He didn't know what to do.

He pushed the covers aside, getting out of the bed. He assume he was in on of Vlad's many guest bedrooms, he couldn't remember which ones he'd peeked earlier, but it didn't look any familiar. Opening the first door he went to ended up being a walk in closet. The second he tried was the jackpot, and he shuffled into the bathroom, the tiled floor cold on his toes.

Bright yellow on the sink caught his attention, and he paused. It was a post-it note, covered in Vlad's scratchy handwriting. He peeled it off the tap, running his eyes over it.

_'Daniel-Your parents don't know your here; there was nothing I could have told them about how you got here so quickly. I will be flying you home tonight. Feel free to use anything you need-shower, kitchen, etc. DO NOT TRASH ANYTHING!'_

Danny rolled his eyes, as if he'd trash Vlad's things for fun. He'd already trashed the man's mind.

He took a quick shower, putting his pajamas back on afterward. He rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows, unable to stand long sleeves when he was awake. He ventured out of the room, wandering the halls as he looked for anything familiar. Various paintings, sculptures and packers items decorated the walls, but nothing he remembered seeing before. He was sorely missing Maddie the cat; at least she'd be able to lead him out of this ridiculous architectural maze. Maybe if he hoped hard enough, the Dairy King might come to his aid.

He came to another hall, and blinked when he recognized it as the one that had lead to the room the reunion had been held in. He was on the first floor, then. He jogged out to the main lobby, recalling that the kitchen had been left from the main door. He navigated towards where he through it was, and was incredibly relieved when he found it on the first try.

After searching the cupboards for a few minutes, Danny found the cups. He filled his glass with tap water, chugging it almost completely all at once. It's cold chill felt wonderful on his sore throat, and he felt loads better. He filled the glass again and leaned against the counter as he drank more slowly. His eyes trailed over the marble counters and the stainless steel pots hanging above the island.

Something pushed against his shoulder, and he jumped. Maddie tilted her head at him, her tail curled around her paws. Danny smiled at her, petting her around the ear.

"You might have a super creepy name, but you are super adorable despite that," She purred at him, pushing all sides of her body into his scratching fingers, "You look more like a Europa. It snows there, because of the geysers."

Maddie just looked at him curiously.

Danny took another drink of water, thoughts circling around his mind. Well, he might as well keep his promise.

"Hey, Maddie," She perked her ears, mrurring, "Find Vlad."

She meowed, batting his shoulder before hopping off the counter. Danny set the glass in the sink, and fallow the feline out of the kitchen. She took him through the dinning room, through a side door into another hall, which branched into another. Danny sped-walked to keep up with her, but that only seemed to make her trot faster too. She suddenly stopped at a door, meowing at it like she had the previous night. She tapped it with her paw, looking up at him. Danny reached down and petted her head, causing her to purr, and slowly opened the door. Maddie charged in instantly, but Danny just peeked his head in, unsure of just what the room was.

The master bedroom, apparently, since Vlad was still passed out on top of the king size bed.

Danny watched as Maddie jumped right up onto the bed, slunk over to Vlad, then laid down _on_ _top_ _of_ the billionaire. Vlad didn't so much as twitch at the added weight on his back. Danny didn't know if that was because Vlad was a sound sleeper, or if he was just so used to the cat doing that. Regardless, Danny stepped into the room, closing the door quietly. He shuffled over to the bed, eying the alarm clock on a nightstand. It read 4:53 PM. Yeah, his parents were probably panicking about him.

Danny climbed onto the free side of the bed, reaching out to shake Vlad's shoulder.

"Hey fruitloop, wake up," Vlad did nothing, not a single stir. His silver hair fell around his pillow and blankets like tiny albino snakes. Danny shook a little harder, "Vlad, it's 5 O'Clo-!"

Fingers closed around his throat and Danny shrieked. Little sound escaped his lips due to the crushing grip cutting off his airway, bright pink shining in his eyes. His fight reflexes kicked into high gear and he kicked-_hard_. His foot connected with something solid.

The pressure disappeared and Danny gasped, gulping down precious oxygen and choking on it at the same time. His fingers massages the sore areas he was sure were going to bruise later.

"_Radi boga_, Daniel, I could have killed you!"

Danny coughed, looking back at Vlad. The man was massaging his left side, sitting back on his heels. His breathing was calming down, and Danny didn't need to be a genius to know he'd deeply startled the other halfa. Danny just nodded as he pushed himself up.

"Sorry," He apologized meekly, his voice a little hoarse, "Note to self, never wake a sleeping Vlad."

"I'll say," Vlad scoffed, brushing his hair out of his face, "I'll also say you have no sense of privacy. _Why_ are you in my room, and why did you wake me up?"

The open sarcasm and brash attitude was a breath of fresh air for Danny. He was upset he'd probably kill it. He threw a hand towards the clock on the nightstand, "It's 5 o'clock and we need to talk before I go home."

Vlad sighed heavily, "I should have expected that to be what you would say. Though I disagree. What else if there to say?"

Danny shrugged, "How about what you meant when you said I could expect to inherit your stuff. How about what bothered your so much about my drawings. How about why you chose to isolate yourself. How about what can happen now, what we can try to do to fix everything. How about how much I was legitimately terrified last night and how guilty I feel about everything. Any of those would be a start."

Vlad looked away, remaining silent. Danny shifted his legs under him, sitting cross legged on the plush covers. Maddie padded out from behind Vlad and plopped down between the two halfas, rubbing her head against Vlad's knee. He absently stroked her fur.

"You'd rather not, I assume?" Danny supplied after a while.

"Correct. But you're right. It needs to be done..." Vlad trailed off, his tone void of emotion. His still didn't look back at Danny, his eyes scanning the carvings on his dresser, "I would have expected the answer to the first of that list to be obvious."

Danny jabbed his tongue between his teeth, his throat tightening. He wanted so much to have been thinking wrong. He wrapped his arms around his middle, "You...I...I thought you were...planning on killing yourself...Last night, when you said...everything."

"You assumed correct," Danny tensed, and held himself tighter. Vlad continued, "What things and reasons do I have to remain alive? I said what I meant last night, I'm tired in ways sleep can't help."

"What things?! How about everything you _do_ have that you can't seem to see?! Like your companies. Your money!" Danny snapped, barely able to believe that Vlad thought he had so little since the man had more things than anyone Danny had ever known before. But Danny tried to swallow his irritability on the subject, he knew that everything Vlad had was superficial, that he was still missing what he'd always truly wanted. The teen's eyes drifted towards Vlad's hands, which were still busy petting the stretched out feline between them. Danny gestured to her, "And this Maddie!"

"Oh yes, a whole three things."

"I'm being serious!" Danny beat his fists on the bed, "You said last night you missed things, that you wanted to go back and change everything. Those things you miss aren't gone, Vlad, mom and dad are still there-"

"You're attempting to tell me to forget my grudges and try to move on," Vlad interrupted, "Your sketchbook stated similar."

"It'd be for the best. It's the root of all the problems."

"It's not that simple, Daniel."

"How isn't it? You're tired of it all and you want it all to stop-"

Vlad shook his head, letting it drop into his hands, "Because I'm-..." He trailed off, shaking his head more.

"You still feel wronged. Annoyed. Frustrated, angry, upset? Right?" Vlad finally looked towards Danny. The teen smiled sadly, "Let me help, Vlad. I want to, I...I don't want to fight anymore either."

"I stand by what I said last night. I don't think you can 'fix' me. I've done so much damage and screwed up so badly, in ways that can't be fixed or undone. I've cheated, lied, stolen, hurt and broken for twenty years; nothing _you_, a fourteen year old with a borderline hero's complex, could fix." Vlad stated.

"Well I think I can. You're not okay, Vlad, and something needs to give," Danny looked down, his bangs falling into his eyes, "I don't...I don't want to be the only halfa."

Vlad nodded, his fingers carding through his hair, "...I know," He whispered, "I know."

Danny picked at the tasseled edges of a blanket near him, running the soft thread through his hands. He stole a glance at Vlad, neither one of them were taking the conversation very well. He decided to switch topics, "Can I know what bothered you so bad about the drawings...?"

Vlad was quiet, his eyes focused on Maddie. When he finally did speak, his voice was quiet, "...You wouldn't have drawn me that way if you didn't see me in those ways. It rattled me to my core. It was...never my intent to become..._that_, in your eyes. Never. I thought," He sighed, closing his eyes, "I thought I could wear you down, force you to see what I thought was in your best interests, what I wanted...I ended up estranging you so much worse than I thought I had...It...It also hurt to see what used to be, what I've tried to forget. It hurt so much more than I thought it would...both things."

Danny nodded solemnly, "If it makes you feel any better, it was my anger driving when I made most of them. It was my way to get out my frustrations. Jazz had suggested writing when she noticed I was too stressed, but I suck at writing so...I did something I could do..."

"It doesn't, but I appreciate your attempt. You have artistic skill, Daniel, that's for sure," Danny blinked at Vlad, at a loss for what to say. Vlad nodded towards him, then pushed himself off the bed, "I'm going to go call your parents, it'll take us an hour to get to Amity by air and it's getting late. You should focus on what you're going to tell them."

"Alright," Danny nodded, watching Vlad grab his cell out of the pocket of a coat hanging at the closet. Vlad stepped into the bathroom and Danny hopped off the bed, excusing himself from the room. Maddie pattered after her owner, leaving Danny to think about why he 'ran away' from home in his pajamas and went all the way to Wisconsin. He wondered if his parents would buy sleep hitchhiking.

Vlad collected him from the lobby where he had been waiting, dressing is his usual tailored suit. He looked more like himself than he had before, but the dark bags still under the older halfa's eyes still told tale that he wasn't all okay yet. The entire car ride to Vlad's private jet was silent, and Danny almost couldn't stand it. He didn't feel comfortable with leaving things as they were at this point. His conversation with Vlad wasn't encouraging.

At least Danny knew which plane he'd be on, since there was only one with dark maroon spelling out "Masters" on the side at the airport.

As Danny boarded Vlad's jet, he stopped dead.

Vlad noticed and turned, raising a brow, "What?"

"This isn't a jet, it's a damn palace on wings," Danny shuffled slowly forward, looking over the bar, the sofas, the 90 inch TV and the work station. All of which were just in the main section, Danny was sure there were other areas just by the fact that there was a door at the opposite end of the cabin. They entire interior was paneled with wood, trimmed in chrome, and the ceiling was glass. Not a single luxury seemed to have been forgotten.

"Not so much, this is my secondary. My primary is in for maintenance," Danny stared at him, gaping. Vlad just shrugged, "Billionaire, Daniel. The money to buy jets is pocket change to me."

Danny just shook his head and sat down. He looked out the windows as the jet took off, his stomach unsettled due to never flying in a plane before. It was different than he was used to. Vlad flipped through a notebook from the desk area, occasionally jotting something down. The silence was eating away at Danny's mind.

"You said something odd after you woke up," He said suddenly, causing Vlad to look up, "What was it?"

Vlad looked back down at his papers, "Russian, 'for god's sake.' I sometimes slip into the language accidentally, thought thankfully it's become more rare."

"You speak Russian?"

"Russian, English, French, Ghost and slightly fluent in Latin."

Danny nodded, looking back out the window, "I don't think I could ever speak five languages, it was hard enough learning a second that wasn't by fluke."

Vlad looked up again, his brows raised, "You know a third language?"

Danny blinked, "Yeah? You didn't know?"

"No, I didn't. What language?"

"Esperanto. Tucker tried to teach me what little he knew, but it wasn't enough so I started having midnight study sprees at the library. Was a better environment than at home."

"The artificial language developed in the 1800s as a neutral language...a highly unusual choice of tongue to learn, difficult because of it's lack of resources. Why that one?"

"A ghost friend that speaks it speaks little English. I started just to get fluent enough to understand him in case we ever met again, but I just kept going even when I met that goal."

"How fluent are you?"

"Tre. Ne tiel kiel fantomo, kaj mi ne hazarde glitis en ĝin kiam mi ne intencas ankoraŭ, sed mi kelkfoje pensas en ĝi," Danny smiled at Vlad's dumbfounded face, and chuckled, translateing, "Very. Not as much as Ghost, and I haven't accidentally slipped into it when I don't mean to yet, but I do sometimes think in it."

Vlad nodded, "I'm impressed."

"Say something in Russian."

"Ty nemnogo der'ma, no ya lyublyu tebya vse ravno."

"And what does it mean?"

Vlad smirked, turning back to his papers, "Wouldn't you just _love_ to know."

About an hour later had they landing and deboarding. Vlad, being _Vlad_, much to Danny's releife and disdain, refused to take a cab and instead called for a rental car. So Danny was forced to look like a moron who forot to get dressed in the morning while they waited. Vlad's presence did nothing to disuade people from stareing, and Danny suspected he actually attracted more attention than anything. Fact was people knew who Vlad was. He didn't see any cameras going off, though, so hopefully he wouldn't end up on the front page under a headline like 'Masters returns dumb teenager to parents'.

Danny chewed on his lip durring the drive home, the fact that he couldn't think up a decent reason why he'd left increaseing his anxiety. As if able to sense this, Vlad eyed him.

"Have you thought of anything to tell them?"

Danny gave him a pointed look, "Have you?"

Vlad's jaw worked, and he shrugged, "Point."

Danny looked back out the window, watching the buildings get steadily more familiar, "I'm debateing on just telling them most of the truth."

"That would requior revealing yourself."

"I know. But I have no other ideas beside sleep hitchhiking."

Vlad huggled, shakeing his head, "If that's what you feel you need to say, then I am in no position to stop you. Just don't get yourself shot."

Danny went silent, letting the sound of the engine take over. The car turned and Danny realized they were a few streets from his home already. He rested his chin in his palm, scanning the buildings for any hint of ghost activity. They were all in good order, so he had high hopes ghosts didn't cause too much trouble in his absence. Not that they were that active anymore due to their newfound obsessionw ith his art anyway.

The vehical drifted to a stop, the brakes slightly screetching. Vlad gestured to the door, and Danny picked at his sleeve, "Could you come in with me?"

Vlad rolled his eyes and popped the door open, not bothering to give a vocal answer. Danny slid out, casting a glace to the window. No one was there, which releived him immensely. Vlad straightened from chatting with the driver, walking towards the front door.

"Actually, Vlad, there's one more thing I want to talk about," Danny called, and the elder halfa turned, raising his brow. Danny took a deep breath, and steeled his resolve, "I'm going to tell my parents who I am, and...I want you to do the same."

Vlad snarled, his eyes flashing red, "No."

"Please, Vlad, I think it will help. They need to know everything in order for things to be worked out. No secrets, nothing held back. A blank slate to start over on," Danny pleaded and Vlad shook his head, massaging his temple.

"I don't...Daniel, that won't help me. My ghost self is very clearly an enemy to them, nothing good could come from revealing myself."

"Okay, yeah, mom won't be happy about it, but dad still cares about you and they both care about me so you wont be alone," Danny said.

"And if things go horribly wrong, we'll both be attacked and there won't be a safe haven for the both of us once they know."

"Vlad I wouldn't be asking you to do this if I believed my parents would try anything. Please?" The teen tried, but he could still see the reluctance in the other halfa.

"This is your chance, Vlad. I'm not saying it won't be easy or that it won't be painful at times or that you won't have to struggle or work to get where you want to be, but this is a chance. A way out, and I know you can do it, I know you can change. Your strong, Vlad, you're the strongest person I know," Danny outstretched his hand towards Vlad, "Come on. Let's finish this, and start working for something better."

Vlad eyed him for a long while, before sighing and shaking his head, "I've must have gone crazy. But very well, Daniel, I hope you know what you're doing. I trust you. Let's give this a shot."

His hand clasped tightly around Danny's, and a smile split the teen's face.

-o-oOo-o-

"_All this **bad blood** here, won't you let it** dry?**_

_It's be cold for **years**, won't you let it **lie?"**_

_-Bad Blood, Bastille_

-o-oOo-o-

AN: This is a lot longer than I tended it to be. I only intended there to be two chapters, but I couldn't end it after the previous one. I needed to add this. Some of you may recognize the choice from "Door" present here, and that's because I love that trope. As well, I apologize if the Russian and Esperanto is butchered. I had no other option but to use an online translator, as I don't know Russian and I've just started learning Esperanto. I do plan on going back to check it once I get fluent enough, though.

This story is officially complete. There most likely won't be any more to it.

I would like to thank Pokeshadow55 for the song suggestions that were ultimately used in both these newest chapters, Dead Hearts and Bad Blood by Stars and Bastille, respectively. I'd also like to apologize for any hearts I might have ripped out and stomped on, even though doing so is my absolute favorite thing to do. As they say, "I your reader hasn't screamed, cried, laughed, or begun to hate you, you haven't done your job properly."

'Till the next story!


End file.
